What would it have been like for Jesus, returning to preach at his hometown synagogue? A minister named Mark Trotter was asked to guest preach in his childhood church and he shares this reaction: "I think I know what it was like on that Sabbath day in Nazareth, because I grew up in one church, left there when I was sixteen, and after fifteen years I came back. I was ordained now, and they asked me to preach. It was the first time back in fifteen years to that old church. And oh my, they were impressed. They sat transfixed throughout the whole service, rapt attention, watching everything I did. But, they didn't hear a word I said. I could have said anything to them. They were just dumbfounded that I was up there doing it, this overgrown kid, the one they were sure wouldn't amount to anything, the youngest one, you know, what's his name? They were just amazed. That's what happens when you go back to the home church. They don't come to hear a sermon, they come to celebrate a homecoming. They come to remember old times. They feel proud. It's one of our kids. Look at him up there."

I have not yet had this opportunity in my ministry yet, but imagine it would be similar. Well, what was it like for Jesus? One major difference is that no one could have had a bad memory of him. He had a perfect reputation with all who knew him. So no one was surprised that he could now lead worship. But I also think it must have been similar in a few ways. I am sure most folks were watching him and checking out his speaking style and mannerisms more than they were intending to listen to his words. To get their attention, Jesus would have to say something shocking. Jesus' sermon was super short. From what we have recorded of it, it was only 8 words long! But this short sermon was powerful and effective! And yes, it was shocking! We know from what followed it that it caught everyone's attention in that synagogue building. Oh yes, they heard what Jesus said, alright. They heard Him say that He was the Son of God.

Could you imagine sitting there being proud of your hometown boy, thinking to yourself that he really has a good speaking voice and seems to know his way around the Bible pretty well, and that he picked a neat passage from Isaiah that foretold how the Messiah, God's Son, would come to bring you release from all this oppression, and then be impressed by how much confidence he began his sermon with, by making sure he has all of your attention, and how he makes it so relevant by telling you what this passage means for you today when he says, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." ? Wait a minute! What did he just say? His text was a prophecy about the Messiah. And he just said that it is fulfilled today! That means…he is saying that He is the Son of God! How are you supposed to believe that? How could those people recognize whether or not they were listening to the Son of God? Today, Jesus still talks to us. How are we supposed to know that this scripture is fulfilled? How are you supposed to recognize whether or not you are listening to the Son of God?

Well, the Son of God had a certain job to do. That "job description" was outlined by a number of OT prophecies like Isaiah's. So, one way we could determine whether or not the Son of God is who He says he is would be to see if He did the job He was supposed to do and claimed He could do. Let's look at his sermon, then, starting with the text he chose: Isaiah 61.

The text began, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor." So one thing the Son of God would have to have is some Good News for the Poor. Isaiah wasn't talking about the homeless here. The "poor" spoken of are not those who are without money and the goods and comforts of this life, but those who are poor in spirit, that is, those who are poor in God's sight. They have no righteousness with which they can stand before God on Judgement Day. They are sinners who deserve the punishment of God for their sins and who cannot rid themselves of the guilt of their sins. This makes them spiritually poor. No matter how much money we have, you and I are spiritually poor. We come before God with our empty pockets hanging out, because we have nothing righteous to offer Him. Nothing! We are in dire need of forgiveness and holiness. We need a Savior who could take our sins away, and give us the righteousness we need to walk into God's presence. That is exactly what Jesus did three years after this event when He let Himself be crucified in our place! He "filled your pockets" with righteousness! He made you worthy to step into God's presence forever, forgiven, and loved. Did Jesus back up his claim in the synagogue that day? You bet He did! Can we know we are listening to the Son of God when He assures us of this? You bet we can!

Jesus' sermon text continued, "He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners." The sinner is described as a captive, a prisoner of war. Sin is like a harsh taskmaster who treats us sinners as slaves, beats us, and forces us to do many things we should not do or rather would not do. We sinners are captives of sin who need to be set free. The true Messiah would have to offer Freedom to these Prisoners of Sin.

The sinner is also described as "blind." Sin blinds the mind's eye so that the sinner cannot see truth. Often, as sinners, we don't think that the sins we commit are sin at all. We have no way of judging our own actions properly, nor can we see them in the same light God sees them in. We are spiritually blind and need to have our sight restored. The Messiah would have to give that Sight to the Blind.

The last picture is that of a man sitting in prison, where he has been beaten by the jailer and is bleeding from his wounds. He is oppressed! This is what sin does to us sinners. It destroys our bodies little by little, and causes us much pain and suffering. We need someone to set us free from this prison house of sin that we sit in. The task of the Messiah, the Son of God, is to set sinners free from the consequence of their sins, to Release the Oppressed. And if we want to be sure that this Jesus of Nazareth we are listening to is who He claims to be, the Son of God, then we need to know that He has done all these things. The rest of the Bible tells us that in fact, He has done them. He took care of all of this when He was oppressed on the cross for us.

No greater image of oppression and captivity exists today than that of World War II's Nazi concentration camps. Elie Wiesel, a teenager then, witnessed the death of many family members. He recalls the day when he, as well as the other prisoners, were finally liberated from Auschwitz by the allies. On that day powerful, strong soldiers broke down the fences of the concentration camp to release the prisoners. Frail, feeble, gaunt, and near death, they were terrible victims of a horrible criminal evil. In spite of his condition, Wiesel remembers one solider, a strong black man, who upon seeing the horror of human suffering was overcome with grief. He fell to his knees sobbing in a mix of disbelief and sorrow. The captives, now liberated, walked over to the soldier, put their arms around him, and offered comfort to him.

I can't help but wonder what it is that Jesus saw on that day he began his ministry. Looking out at those gathered in the synagogue, just as I am looking out at you this morning, as near as I can tell, He saw the same thing that strong black soldier saw: Terrible victims of a horrible criminal evil. This is no complement! You are poor. You are prisoners and captives to evil. You are oppressed by your sinful life. We don't like to think of ourselves as victims of sin. But evil, in a manner of speaking, has had its own way with us, and when Jesus arrived on the scene ready to liberate us prisoners I am sure he was overcome with grief. But He also had some good news to share. He began his sharing of that good news by reading a short prophecy of what the Savior would do from Isaiah, and then a shocking eight-word sermon: "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Oh yes, that was shocking to the hometown folk who grew up with Jesus. And they did not believe that they were listening to the Son of God.

But it is also shocking good news to us today. It is just as shocking as it no doubt was to the concentration camp prisoners when they were actually rescued. I am sure they never thought they were getting out of there. What joy and relief it was to see those soldiers! There are times in our life when it seems that we are going nowhere and never getting out of here! The good news is that our Ally has arrived! Our Savior has come! And we have the advantage over those who listened to Him that day, because we have heard the rest of what He did for us on the cross. He did what He claimed He would. And that is how we can recognize that we are listening to the Son of God! He is still here speaking with us today. Amen.

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